Bishop Emeritus Frank J. Rodimer, who led the Diocese of Paterson for 26 years, died Thursday. He was 91.

Rodimer spent his 60-year career in the Paterson diocese. He succeeded Lawrence B. Casey as the sixth Bishop of Paterson on Feb. 28, 1978.

The Rockaway native resided in the Green Pond section of Rockaway Township after his retirement in 2004. Earlier this year, he moved to St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa, where he was residing at the time of his death.

Rodimer's tenure spanned a tumultuous era as allegations of sexual abuse by priests exploded into an international scandal.

In 2002, during the height of the sex-abuse scandal, Paterson Diocese officials were under scrutiny for how they handled several high-profile cases. That year Rodimer issued a three-page public apology letter following published reports that he had failed to report abuse cases to law enforcement.

''I regret my own inadequacy," he wrote in the letter. "As a church, we have failed, in one significant area, namely the protection of children, to live up to the wisdom and challenge of Jesus Christ.''

"I deeply regret that I did not know 20 years ago what our society had come to know about such matters as pedophilia," he wrote. "If I had that knowledge then, I might have helped to prevent or eliminate some of this suffering.''

In 2005, a group of 27 men who alleged they were abused by Catholic clergymen agreed to a $5 million settlement to end two lawsuits against the diocese.

Many of the men said they were abused by James Hanley, a former pastor at St. Joseph's church in Mendham, in one of the most notorious cases of clergy abuse in the state. Hanley, in 2002, was removed from the priesthood,17 years after church officials learned of allegations against him.

Hanley provided a sworn statement during the case that said retired Rodimer allowed him to continue working in the mid-1980s after acknowledged allegations made against him.

(L-R) Three Bishops- Paterson Biship Arthur Serratelli, Bishop of Peoria Illinois Daniel R Jenky, C.S.C. and Paterson Bishop Emeritus Frank Rodimer at the reception at the Conservatory at the Madison Hotel in Madison following the mass honoring the late Bishop Fulton Sheen at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station, December 9, 2008.(Photo: File)

Rodimer agreed to a sit-down with the Mendham victims for a televised meeting in 2002. He also traveled to churches where Hanley had served to speak with parishioners.

In another case during Rodimer's tenure, Ronald Tully was removed as pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Dover in 2004 after two victims came forward with allegations they first made in 1979.

The victims, who lived in Passaic at the time of the alleged assault, said they were told by Rodimer in 1980 that Tully no longer would be allowed to work with children.

But they came forward again in 2004 when they read in a newspaper report that Tully was pastor of Sacred Heart and had been promoted to monsignor.

More of Tully's victims later surfaced and the diocese confirmed it paid almost $1 million in legal settlements to four alleged Tully victims.

The diocese in 2015 said it had paid at least nine alleged victims an estimated $2.1 million to settle cases of abuse against Tully, who was defrocked in 2007.

60 years in diocese

As bishop, Rodimer established 12 new parishes, ordained 91 priests and 179 permanent deacons and confirmed more than 100,000 Catholics.

"With a sense of loss, we give Bishop Rodimer back to God," said Bishop Arthur J. Seratelli, who succeeded Rodimer in 2004. "A dedicated leader, a man with a good pastoral sense and zeal for all God’s people, he served the Diocese of Paterson as priest and then bishop. We are grateful for his life of continued service even after his retirement from administration. He has left us the rich legacy of how to live and how to die. May God grant him the reward of his labors."

Rodimer also served on the National Council of Catholic Bishops Committee on the Liturgy and raised millions of dollars through his "Share the Vision" campaign for capitol repairs to church buildings in urban areas of the diocese, according to an obituary posted on the Diocese of Paterson website. He also spearheaded the renovation of St. John's Cathedral in Paterson, which he rededicated in 1987.

Rockaway native

Rodimer was born Oct. 25, 1927 and was ordained May 19, 1951, after attending Seton Hall Prep, St. Charles College in Maryland and the St. Mary's (Baltimore) and Immaculate Conception (Seton Hall University) seminaries

He received the degree of Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1951 from Catholic University in Washington D.C., where he also received a doctorate in canon law in 1954.

Before becoming bishop, he served as parochial vicar of St. Brendan Parish in Clifton, Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta and St. Paul Parish in Clifton.

Rodimer continued to serve the diocese in retirement.

"Every day I still pray for the people of the diocese and their intentions and I always hope today to still encourage my brother priests in whatever way I can to continue this very important ministry,” he said.